Fire Dragon of the Apocalypse
by insanemonkeyboy
Summary: When a rumor of a living fire dragon reaches Makarov, Mavis decides it must be investigated. But why does Makarov send Mirajane and Erza instead of Natsu? And how will the guild fare in the battle against Alvarez without its two strongest female wizards? OP Natsu x Erza x Mirajane, E.N.D., Zeref
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, first things first. I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters. I don't write about them.

This story takes place after Makarov is rescued from the Alvarez Empire, but before The war's beginning. It assumes that Natsu and E.N.D. exist as separate entities.

And this was going to be NaZa, but I actually decided to make it NaMiZa (Natsu x Mirajane x Erza).

Updates will probably be a little slow, especially while I'm finishing up my other fanfic.

So now, without further ado, chapter 1**

* * *

"Mirajane, Erza. I need to speak with you two immediately."

"Yes Master!" The two female mages hurried to the guild master's office. The door closed behind them.

"The two of you need to go on a quest for me. I don't know how long it will take…"

"Wait, what?!" Erza glared at the master. "You're asking me to abandon Fairy Tail as we prepare for our greatest battle?"

Makarov sighed. "Just hear me out. I wouldn't ask this if it weren't extremely important. I can't send Laxus, because he's still suffering from the anti-magic particle sickness…"

He let that sink in, but neither of the mages seemed surprised. Both had noticed the lightning dragon slayer looking pained and holding his head in his hands when he believed nobody else was looking.

The master was fairly disappointed with the lack of effect. "Alright, here's the quest. There have been reports that there is another dragon in Fiore."

"Another dragon?" Erza's eyes widened.

"Shouldn't we send the dragon slayers then?" Mira asked, hiding her surprise a little better than Erza.

Makarov sighed. "None of them actually took down a dragon during the Eclipse Gate incident. They may be powerful, but we can't put our trust in them for that right now."

"What about Natsu?" Erza asked. "He's gotten a lot more powerful since the dragon invasion. He might be powerful enough to take down a dragon now."

Makarov sighed. "I thought about that too. But we need Natsu here. I don't know what hair-brained idea he's cracked up in that dense brain, but there's a chance he can beat Zeref…"

Erza sighed. "I understand," she said. "I know defeating Zeref is our top priority. But what about the rumors of the dragon? I thought dragons really were extinct, except Acnologia…"

"So did I," Makarov said. "I was going to just disregard the rumors, but Mavis remembered some old stories she read in the library on Tenroujima. The stories spoke of another dragon being seen some 150 years ago. A fire dragon whose strength could be said to rival Acnologia's. This dragon seems even more secretive, if it does exist, so it surely won't be easy to find."

"Then why would he show up now, suddenly?"

"I asked the same question," Makarov said. "Mavis said it's because of the upcoming war. Her theory is that this dragon has some part to play, for good or evil in the war. And that's another reason that I have to send you instead of Natsu…"

"You want us to talk to it?" Erza gaped.

Makarov nodded. "We have to see if it's a potential ally. If the rumors of its strength are true, it might be more powerful than Igneel, the fire king. You need to get as close as you can and try to make contact _after_ you discover whether it's a friend or enemy."

Erza sweat-dropped, immediately recognizing why the master couldn't send the boisterous dragon slayer on such a quest. "Alright…" she said. "Assuming we find it, and talk to it, what then?"

"Depends on how it goes," Makarov replied. "If you discover that it could be friendly, try to make it an ally. If it's an enemy… Delay it as much as you can without getting yourselves killed."

"Great." Mira said, her most sarcastic smile on her face. "So it's either befriend the dragon or try not to get killed by it… You must really love us a lot to give us a mission like this, master…"

"I wouldn't send you if I thought there were any other choice." Makarov's voice was quiet. "And if it hadn't been for the insistence of the first master."

"Mavis wanted you to send us?" Erza was surprised again.

"She seemed to think it was very important." Makarov said. "And I'm not about to question her strategy."

"If Mavis thinks it's important, it must be." Erza, though surprised, could never doubt the first master. "We will accept this quest with honor, then."

"We'll do our best to find it," Mira agreed with her usual stoic smile.

"Thanks so much, Mirajane and Erza. And whatever you do… come back alive."

"That goes without saying," Mirajane smirked.

"Yeah, you can't get rid of us that easy," Erza said.

With that, the two headed out to pack. Neither of them allowed the fear that was deep in their hearts to show in their stride or on their faces. Both were very confident in their power as mages, but neither had forgotten that fateful day on Tenroujima…

Makarov returned to the strategy room, his eyes tearing up a little bit.

"They'll be fine, 8th Master." Mavis said reassuringly.

"How do you know?" Makarov asked.

"I feel it in my heart…" She smiled. "Plus, they're Fairy Tail mages!"

"Well, let's just hope your heart's not wrong." Makarov muttered as his eyes traveled back to the door.

 **~~~Several days later~~~**

"These mountains are the last reasonable place in this area to search for a dragon," Erza sighed. "If he's gonna' show up, he'd better come soon."

The two were on a mountain trail, just reaching a large plateau that spanned about 200 feet before the mountain went up again.

Suddenly Mirajane stopped. "There are remnants of very powerful magic here…" she said, closing her eyes. "They seem to be focused from… over there!" she pointed to a cave in the side of the mountain.

The two sprinted the distance to the cave, and Erza looked at it, disappointed.

"This is way too small for a dragon to fit into," she said. "I'm not even sure that Elfman could get in there without crouching."

"Yeah…" Mira sighed. "Guess it's a bust."

"Not entirely," Erza grinned, looking at the sun that was moving swiftly toward the horizon. "It's a great place to set up camp."

"True," Mira grinned as the two entered the cave.

Moments later, they had their sleeping equipment laid out, and their packs all set up against a wall of the cave.

Erza pulled out a few loaves of bread and some dried meat. "We're running low on provisions," she sighed. "We'll have to go back to town to restock in a couple days."

Mira giggled. "As long as we can get something better than this bread and dried meat…"

"It's not so bad if you drink lots of water with it," Erza said, emptying her canteen.

"Except for the part where you have to pee all night," responded Mirajane.

"You just have to learn to hold it," Erza said, leaning back against the wall as she ate.

"Right… cause that's so easy to do."

"I don't see why not," Erza shrugged. "I did it."

Mira sighed, taking a sip from her canteen. "Well, I'm not one to doubt first master, but I'm starting to think there is no dragon."

"No!" Erza glared. "I will not hear such talk. First master Mavis is never wrong!"

"What about that three way fight with Kagura and Minerva?" Mira laughed.

"She was only half wrong," Erza declared.

"Well maybe she's half wrong this time too," Mira said. "The existing half," she muttered to herself.

"Look… we have to believe First Master… Otherwise…"

Her voice trailed off as a rush of wings sounded outside, and a shadow came over the cave. They looked out to see an enormous foot, large enough to cover the mouth of the cave by itself.

"You were saying, Mira?..." Erza whispered.

Mira was just gaping at the enormous foot outside. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about this quest…"

"At least it can't get in here…" Erza muttered. "It's way too big."

No sooner had she said that than the dragon was wrapped in a glowing fire and disappeared. Outside, the silhouette of a man approached the cave. Afraid, but resolved, the two mages stood side by side, prepared for battle or even death.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters. I just write about them.

This story will probably be on hiatus after this chapter while I finish "The Demon Children." I only anticipate that taking about a week, maybe two if it takes a little longer.

I don't usually post two chapters a day, but what can I say? I was feeling inspired.

So anyway, on to chapter 2**

* * *

Mirajane stood next to Erza, her back to the wall. She was prepared for anything, be it friendship, battle, or death, for the sake of her guild.

What she wasn't prepared for was a half-naked, finely toned pink-haired man to stroll into the cave. His crimson pants that came down to his knees were different, but every other feature was the well-known guild member they all loved.

"NATSU!" she screamed out together with Erza.

"WHAT ARE HUMANS DOING HERE?" Natsu bellowed, his voice so loud it shook the cave and hurt their ears. The two cowered back against the wall, weapons at the ready.

"Sorry," he said a little quieter. "I haven't used this voice for a while, so I guess I kinda' lost some of the fine details of speech."

"Natsu?..." Mira still couldn't believe her eyes, or her ears for that matter. "How did you become a dragon?"

Natsu looked at them in confusion, then his eyes cleared as though in realization. "Oh, I see. You must know the other me."

"There's another you?" Erza gaped.

"It's a long story."

"We've got nothing but time," Mira relaxed her guard.

"Well…" Natsu sighed. "Ok then. First off, I'm Natsu Dragneel, younger brother of Zeref Dragneel. –"

"WHAT?!" They both screamed in unison.

"This is going to be a hard story to tell if you keep interrupting me every 5 seconds.."

"We're sorry," Erza said. "It's just, first there's two Natsu's, and now you're the black wizard's brother? It just doesn't make sense."

"It will if you listen…" Natsu said, and he began again.

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

"No… They can't take my little brother!" Zeref cried, having just heard the news from his parents.

"I'm sorry Zeref, but this is the best chance for the human race." His father was the one that answered. His mother still had tears in her eyes. "Now say goodbye, because he's going first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'll go! I'll be a dragon slayer in his place!"

"I'm sorry, but you can't," his father replied. "The dragons searched everyone's soul, and said he is the one who will best be able to master it without becoming like Acnologia."

"But I don't want Natsu to go away forever…"

His father sighed. "The dragons said after his first three years of training you'll be allowed to visit him regularly. Until then he isn't to have any human contact."

"Now say goodbye and go to bed, young man." Zeref's mother said, choking back her own tears. "If you wake up early, you might be able to see Natsu off."

With tears in his eyes, the black-haired boy said goodbye and rushed to his bedroom.

"Tomorrow morning Natsu… I'll be sure to follow you." He cried on his pillow. After what seemed like an eternity he fell asleep and sank into an uneasy sleep.

 **~~While Zeref Slept~~**

"Are you sure we were right to deceive him like that?" Zeref's mother asked as Igneel landed outside the door.

"It was the only way we were going to get him to bed," replied the father. The two were in the process of turning a young, pink-haired child to the fire dragon king. "And you know he would try to follow them if they left tomorrow morning."

"Take care," Igneel said as he left, Natsu safely held in one of his massive forelimbs. "The anti-human dragons may have learned of our plans. You won't be safe for very long." And with that he was gone.

 **~~~Later that Night~~~**

Zeref awoke with a start. He hadn't heard the creatures approaching, but he felt the heat of the blaze. The whole house was on fire, though somehow his room, which was more of a root cellar than a room, had survived. He tried to rush up the stairs, but couldn't get all the way through because of the intense heat of the dragon fire. He heard the powerful beating of their wings as they departed. He was afraid the heat would melt through the door. That he would die at any moment…

But it didn't. The heat slowly died down, and after what felt like an eternity he was actually able to touch the metal door. He quickly pushed it open and rushed into the house.

Or what had been a house. Now he was standing in the open air amidst a pile of ashes. There was no sign of his brother. No sign of his parents. They had been burned to ash just like the rest of the house, never to be recovered.

Zeref screamed out a loud denial. He could accept the loss of his parents. Even though he loved them, he could accept it. It hurt, but it was something that his mind was somehow ok with. But he couldn't accept that Natsu was gone. Not Natsu. Though he was nothing more than a little boy, the child had brought so much joy and happiness to the house.

It was at that point that Zeref made a decision. He would learn magic. He would recreate Natsu's body, and he would figure out a way to get life back into it.

Over the next couple years, Zeref discovered that recreating Natsu's body was a relatively easy task. The harder part was putting life back in it. It seemed there was some god named Ankhseram who didn't like people meddling with life and death.

And so E.N.D. was born…

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

"WHAT?!" Mira and Erza gaped again.

"You mean Natsu is E.N.D., and he's been in our guild the whole time?" Erza swallowed. "That's a little hard to believe. Besides – why would Igneel train Natsu, if he'd already trained you?"

Natsu sighed. "It was a little after my first major battle with the anti-human faction…"

 **~~FLASHBACK START~~**

"Just… one… more… kill…" Natsu groaned. Dragons lay strewn around him on the field, but he was at his limit, and more were coming.

"Natsu, you must come away!" Igneel called. "If you die, there won't be anyone left to challenge Acnologia!"

But before Natsu could comply, he got hit by another dragon attack and buried under a pile of rubble…

 **~~~Later~~~**

As they were mourning the loss of their plan to beat Acnologia, a sky god-slayer with pink hair stumbled across a limp, almost lifeless pink-haired man deep in a cave. She didn't know why he was there. Hell, she didn't even know why she was there, other than getting lost and separated from her companions earlier. But this had to be a fateful encounter. She expended all her magic to heal the battered man, laying him to rest on the ground when she was finished.

"It'll take a while, but you'll wake up…" She said, quietly.

It was over a week before the dragon slayer finally did awaken. Fortunately for him, there was an underground lake in the cave, which helped him to find food quickly. But there was no easy outlet to the world above. It took him several more days to regain the physical strength to actually find his way to the outside world, and once he did, he found the war was over. The dragons who opted for peace with the humans were gone. So were the anti-human dragons. All slaughtered in the wake of Acnologia.

Natsu spend the next several years mourning the loss of his surrogate father, while training his ass off to become powerful enough to destroy Acnologia.

 **~~~Sometime after these events~~~**

This was a demon. A monster created by the black wizard to kill him, but Igneel just couldn't turn it away. It was the perfect physical image of a boy he had met so long ago to teach dragon slayer magic. A boy who was now lost to him forever.

It was then that he formed a plan. He secretly contacted Grandeeney, Metalicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum. Together, they formed a plan for the eventual downfall of Acnologia. By the time Natsu learned that some dragons still existed, the dragons had put their souls into the new dragon slayers, who had passed through the eclipse gate into the future.

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

"So you see," Natsu said, "I never did get to see Igneel again… He and all the other dragons disappeared, and Acnologia did too. For over 400 years I've been tracking that monster, but I never seem to be able to catch up with him."

"Why didn't you ever tell anybody?" Mira asked. "Why didn't you see Zeref?"

Natsu sighed again. "I only recently actually discovered this fact… And by that time, Zeref was just as elusive as Acnologia. But now he will attack Fairy Tail, which is why I'm here."

"But how do you know Zeref is attacking Fairy Tail?"

"I do keep an eye on things," Natsu replied. "Once I learned about Fairy Tail, and especially about the Fairy Heart, I knew it was only a matter of time before Zeref came for it."

"That's… a lot to take in," Erza said, sinking to the floor.

"Won't Natsu be surprised to find out he's a demon?" Grinned Mirajane.

"Assuming he hasn't already found out," Natsu replied. "Zeref may have spoken to him already about this."

"Nah, I doubt it." Erza replied. "It's something that definitely would bother him if he had been told."

"But if Natsu is E.N.D., why doesn't he act like a demon? E.N.D. is supposed to be Zeref's most powerful creation, but Natsu couldn't even take down Mard Geer."

"That's because E.N.D. is still sealed in that book." Natsu said.

"Huh? I thought you just said Natsu was E.N.D." Mira looked confused.

"He is… but, unlike the other demons, he also has his own body. This means even if his etherious powers are sealed, he can still use magic his body learned as though he were a normal human."

"Also, my brother implanted a personality into him… The personality he remembers me having when I was three…"

"That explains a lot," Mira and Erza both sweat-dropped.

"So what do we do now? And why are you just telling us all this?" Mira asked.

"I don't know," Natsu said. "Perhaps because it's been so long since I talked to another human. I've spent 400 years in the shadows, watching, listening, training myself to beat Acnologia. But in the process, I was beginning to feel like I became something other than human." He looked away.

"I guess it's selfish, really." He finally said. "It sort of makes me feel like I'm really a human."

"Wow," Erza and Mira said. Then they realized it was almost midnight.

"Umm, do you mind if we sleep here tonight?" Erza asked.

"Of course not," Natsu replied. "Make yourselves comfortable."

The two mages did, and soon they were fast asleep.

Erza wasn't sure why she woke up. She'd been cuddled up pretty close to her rival, almost for security as much as warmth, but for some reason her mind was awake now. She looked around the dark cave, her eyes adjusting to the moonlight that streamed in, and realized the dragon slayer was gone.

She tiptoed quietly out of the cave and found him sitting near the edge of the precipice, his arms around his knees and his head buried in his arms.

"What do you want?" his voice was gruff.

"I… I just couldn't sleep," Erza said quietly. She didn't want to ask, but in the end she was too curious not to. "Were you… crying?..."

"No!" The dragon slayer barked roughly, his head returning to his arms. "Why would I be crying?"

Erza could tell instantly that he was lying and came to sit down next to him. "I don't know… why would you be crying?"

Natsu sighed, but started to respond anyway. "I guess it's because… Well, you don't know what it's like to spend 400 years alone.. Not able to talk to anyone, see anyone. Your only companion the silence of the stars at night and the beasts of the forest by day…"

He continued. "I thought my parents abandoned me. Then I thought my foster-father was killed in the attack. Only later do I discover that my parents were killed by dragons, and my foster-father was alive, only to be killed the moment he reappeared by the enemy I'm sworn to destroy. Then I discover I have a brother, who thought I died hundreds of years ago and got himself cursed by some god of life and death…"

He laughed. "Sometimes I think I'll go crazy. Maybe, if I do finally fulfill my quest, I'll end up like Acnologia, the very being I set out to destroy."

"You won't," Erza said, doing the thing that felt right and putting her arm around the dragon slayer.

"How can you say that when you don't even know me?... Hell, I don't even know me…" Natsu said, burying his head in his arms again.

"Because we can believe in you," Mira's voice startled Erza, but didn't seem to startle Natsu at all. "If the dragons believed that you were the best human to resist the destructive urges of the dragon slayer magic, we believe that too. And in a lot of ways, we already know you."

Natsu smiled a little. "You know a different me – my ideal persona, created by my brother… little more than a memory of who I was."

"But who you are never really changes." Erza said quietly. "You can go through pain and suffering, joy and celebration, but in the end, somewhere deep down, is who you are."

And sitting on that ledge, the two girls' arms draped around his shoulders, Natsu really wanted to believe that.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters. I just write about them.

This is a slightly longer chapter than usual. I just couldn't really find a good place to end it right away.

Readers have requested either a Natsu x Hisui or a Natsu x Brandish fanfic next. I'm thinking probably Natsu x Brandish first, just because I think it'll be interesting to write.

Anyway, here's chapter 3**

* * *

"We could really use Erza and Mira right now…" Makarov sweat-dropped. The battle had begun, and Natsu had taken off to face down Zeref.

"I wouldn't ask you to send them if this weren't really important," Mavis said to the guild master.

"But how do you know?..."

"Sometimes you have to trust your heart."

Makarov grunted. It wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but he knew it was the only answer he would get.

The real question was, how would the absence of the two strongest female Fairy Tail wizards affect the course of the battle? Other guilds had come in to help, and already battle lines were being drawn.

He looked out at the direction Natsu had flown off with Happy. He was their best hope of a quick win…

 **~~~Natsu and Happy, several minutes later~~~**

"You're my friend, Natsu! I don't want you to die…"

"Alright Happy, we'll find another way…"

When they were far enough away from the battlefield, Natsu had a few minutes to process everything he'd been told.

"Happy, what do you think this means? How can I be E.N.D.? How can Zeref be my brother?"

"I don't know, Natsu." Happy said. "He did explain it all, but it is a lot to believe."

"I know," Natsu said. "My head hurts…"

"It wasn't that hard to understand Natsu. Natsu?!"

The dragon slayer had collapsed and wasn't moving.

 **~~~Later~~~**

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Mirajane asked the powerful dragon slayer. The group had been making their way slowly toward Magnolia, Natsu explaining that he didn't want to take dragon form because people would be more likely to see them. Now Natsu had stopped, looking out over the air as though frozen.

"It's Acnologia. He's come to the battlefield…"

Erza looked at his face, trying to understand. "You're… afraid of him?"

Natsu shook his head. "No… Not afraid of him. Afraid of me…"

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"I'm afraid of what will happen after I fight him. For 400 years this quest… This passion to save humankind from Acnologia… It's kept me feeling human. Maybe it's all that's keeping me human now."

Mira smiled at him. "If that's what you're concerned about, you don't need to worry." She smiled. "You won't become like him, Natsu. I know you won't."

"You'll never become like him," Erza echoed, joining Mira.

"But how do you know? How can you know?! I don't even know, and I've lived in this body for over 400 years."

Erza suddenly moved forward, her lips inches from the dragon slayer's. "Because I trust my heart," she said. Then she kissed him.

The moment their lips locked, there was a hot sensation that seemed to fill her whole body. It was an intense heat, but not painful. In fact, she found as she wrapped her arms around his neck that she didn't want it to end. It stirred something in her that was far beyond what she felt when she looked at Jellal, and far deeper than what she felt when she looked at smutty romance novels. She was actually disappointed when the kiss broke off.

Mira nudged her over a little. "That was cheating," she whispered to the scarlet mage.

To their surprise, the dragon slayer pulled them both close to him. "I want to believe… I want to believe I won't become a monster. But I need something to anchor me… Anchor me to my humanity…"

Mira grunted. "Ease up on the grip a little…"

Erza breathed a sigh of relief as the dragon slayer loosened his grip. Though she would've been the last to admit it, the dragon slayer's grip was crushing the breath out of her as well.

"I'm sorry," Natsu said. "I guess after 400 years I don't even know how to hold people anymore."

"It's alright." Mira replied. "We're strong enough to handle that crushing grip for a little while. Just don't make a habit of it." With that she stole a kiss from the dragon slayer. Erza watched as her eyes went wide with surprise, then her features melted into a look of pure bliss. The kiss lasted for several long moments before the dragon slayer broke it off. _I wonder if that's what I looked like…_ Erza thought as she watched Mira struggle to regain her composure.

Natsu looked from Mirajane to Erza. His eyes still held a glimmer of uncertainty, as though he couldn't fully trust what was happening.

"Will you two be my anchor?" He asked, finally.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Erza asked.

"How do we do that for you?" Mirajane questioned.

"It's nothing difficult," Natsu said. "Just promise you'll be there whenever I come back… No matter what battles I fight, no matter where life takes us, you'll always be there for me when I'm done."

Erza and Mirajane looked at each other, then at the dragon slayer in front of them. "I promise," they said together.

"Then we need to hurry." Natsu picked up both of the girls in his arms and took off. Suddenly they were practically flying across the ground.

"So you can even move this fast when you're not a dragon?" Erza asked as the ground sped away below them.

"I can go even faster in dragon form," Natsu replied. "But yes, I can move pretty fast this way."

 **~~~Battle progression, with Elfman, Gajeel, Levy, et. al~~~**

"They took out all of Saber _and_ Pegasus?!"

The group was staring at the Sabertooth mages, who were being carried along strung up on cross-shaped poles for all to see.

"Those monsters!" Mirajane exclaimed, looking out at the approaching armies.

"Mira! When did you get here. And where were you?"

"Just now, and that answer will have to wait." Mirajane said. "For now, we've gotta' be ready to take these guys down."

 **~~~Jellal and Kagura~~~**

"It's not Simon!"

"You cretin. What does that…"

Erza sighed. "I'm amazed to find you two working together, but can you stop fighting?"

"Erza!" They both exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," she responded.

"Heh…" Came a voice from above.

And the battle resumed.

 **~~~Wendy, Laxus, Chelia, and Carla (Hargeon)~~~**

None of them were really fit to fight at the moment. Chelia's magic was gone for good. Wendy was too worn out to heal anyone. Though Laxus was cured of his antimagic particle problem, the fight had taken too much out of him.

That's when Acnologia appeared, though none of them knew who he was since he was in his human form. With inhuman speed he rushed for Wendy, ready to finish off another of the hated dragon slayers. Wendy barely had time to react, trying to get out of the way of the strike that was coming, while at the same time preparing for her last moments.

But the strike never hit. At the last instant it was blocked by a pink-haired mage wearing crimson, knee-length pants.

"Natsu?!" Laxus and Wendy cried simultaneously.

"No," Wendy said. "It's not Natsu… he smells different."

"I am Natsu Dragneel," Wendy and Laxus both cringed a bit at the loudness of his voice. "But we don't have time for stories now. You all need to get out of here so I can fight Acnologia freely."

"That's Acnologia?" Laxus's eyes bulged.

"I knew he smelled familiar," Wendy said.

As quickly as they could the injured mages and Chelia retreated, bringing Carla with them. They were barely out of range of the battlefield when huge explosions began to erupt, obliterating anything in the area.

 **~~~Back at the guild~~~**

Laxus, Wendy, and Chelia returned to the guild with Carla, which was simultaneously undergoing repairs and celebrating the recent victory against Jacob. As they walked in, they were greeted with surprised, but happy, exclamations. They'd managed to procure transportation by borrowing some abandoned horses from Hargeon.

Laxus and Chelia, however, were staring at Natsu, who was among the first to greet them.

"Natsu! How are you here? We just left you fighting Acnologia!" Laxus exclaimed.

"Hugh?" Natsu looked confused. "Acnologia's here?"

"Natsu's been here this whole time," Makarov said. "He just defeated one of the Spriggan 12 and got us all back from the brink of death – with a little help from Lucy."

"I told you that wasn't our Natsu…" Wendy muttered.

"Well someone who looks a lot like you is out there fighting Acnologia," Laxus said. "And he said his name was Natsu Dragneel…"

"But he also said that it was a story that would have to wait," Chelia reminded the 2nd generation dragon slayer.

"And he didn't quite smell like Natsu," Wendy added. "He smelled similar, but very different at the same time."

"There's two Natsus?!" A random guild member shouted.

"That's just what we don't need," groaned Laki.

"I want to meet this other me!" Natsu grinned.

"Of course you do…"

"And then challenge him to a fight!" He added.

"Of course you do…" Makarov groaned.

Suddenly some other guild members rushed in. "Acnologia's here!" They announced. "And there's another dragon fighting him!"

"Wait, he's in dragon form now?" Laxus said. "He was in human form when he attacked Wendy."

"Acnologia attacked Wendy?! And Wendy's alive?!"

"Yeah. Natsu-san blocked it at the last moment!" Wendy blushed. "Well – it looked just like Natsu-san, and his name was Natsu Dragneel… But it was a different Natsu-san."

Laxus interrupted again. "Wait. Did you say there's another dragon fighting him?"

The other guild member nodded. "We just saw it while we were repairing the back. They're really far away, but you can see that they're dragons if you look closely"

Instantly the guild hall was empty as everyone ran out to look. Sure enough, far to the south they could see two dragons – visible from this distance only because of their immense size – battling in the air.

"What the fuck is going on?..." Laxus muttered.

 **~~~Zeref~~~**

"There's another dragon besides Acnologia?" Zeref gaped at the report from the south. He'd come prepared to fight Natsu and Acnologia, but who was this fire dragon? Acnologia should be the only remaining dragon in all Earthland.

"Emperor Spriggan?" Invel's voice brought Zeref back to reality.

"Invel, call off the advance for the moment. These circumstances are… unforeseen. I must go investigate."

"As you wish, your majesty. Should I send for some of the 12 to accompany you?"

"No, they're all busy with their own part in this battlefield. I can handle myself."

"I wasn't trying to imply otherwise, your majesty."

And Zeref was off, ready to watch the battle of the two dragons, and determined to learn how this fire dragon had eluded his notice for over 400 years.

When he got there, the dragons weren't going all out. They were still trading blows, but now Acnologia was talking.

"So you survived. You were supposed to have died… twice."

"It looks as though fate had other plans… I've searched for you for over 400 years, Acnologia. And now I've finally found you. Make no mistake. I will destroy you."

"For 400 years I've searched the lands for a worthy opponent, only to discover now that one has been chasing me for 400 years? Truly, your strength is impressive, Natsu Dragneel, but is it really enough to destroy me?"

 _Wait – what did he just say?_ For the first time in centuries, Zeref was confused. _That can't be Natsu… he's an etherious, not a dragon. And how could he have gained so much magic power so quickly?_

"It's more than enough to destroy you. I am the son of Igneel, the fire king. And in the past 400 years I have surpassed my father's strength."

"Son of Igneel? Don't make me laugh. That dragon was nothing more to you than a teacher. You should've used your magic to kill him and make you stronger – then you truly would've become powerful."

"Well why don't we find out who's right, then?"

"You're right. Enough talk."

The two great beasts roared in the sky, charging each other with a force that leveled buildings. Great blasts shook the earth like earthquakes, destroying hundreds of meters of land.

 _That can't be Natsu. He's back at the guild right now – I know he hasn't left. But why did Acnologia call him Natsu? And why did he answer to the name?_ Zeref was beginning to struggle. Old memories were coming back to haunt him. _Natsu… You died over 400 years ago with our parents._

Suddenly Acnologia crashed to the ground. The fire dragon came in for a finishing blow, but then stopped, turning toward the north.

"Erza's in danger," his voice was earsplitting, causing even the black mage Zeref pain as he rose up into the sky and sped toward the north.

Zeref decided it was time to have a chat with Acnologia.

 **~~~Kagura~~~**

Tears came to Kagura's eyes as she held Erza, who was bleeding all over her body. Jellal looked with rage at the mage who was above them.

Suddenly Erza was taken from Kagura's lap. She looked up to see the pink-haired dragon slayer.

"She needs medical help," his voice seemed unnecessarily loud. "Can you handle this wizard?"

Jellal just nodded, mutely. Kagura looked up at the pink haired dragon slayer, wondering how he could possibly have grown so much more powerful in so short a time.

"I'm taking her back to the guild, then."

 **~~~Fairy Tail guild hall~~~**

Things were just getting back to normal when the doors flew open.

"Where's your infirmary?!" Several guild members covered their ears, wincing in pain at the volume of the question. All of them gaped.

A pink haired man with crimson pants held Erza in his arms Erza was bleeding badly, but the mage hadn't suffered any damage at all.

"N-N-Natsu?" Shrieked Lucy, looking from the pink haired dragon slayer sitting next to her to the one holding Erza in his arms. Chelia could see the differences instantly. One looked to be in his early 20s and emitted an enormous amount of magic power. His hair was less messy and a little longer, and his body more scarred, but also more muscular. Yet it was unquestionably Natsu.

"Are you… from the future?" Lucy asked, remembering the time when she'd come back from the future.

"Questions will have to wait. Where's your infirmary?" The question was quieter now.

"I'll take you there," Chelia said quickly. "Follow me."

She led Natsu to Fairy Tail's infirmary, where Wendy and Laxus were currently healing under Porlyusica's care. The old woman looked at Natsu wonderingly.

"You're not the young man I know from the guild," she said as her eyes moved from Natsu to Erza. "But I see that will have to wait. Get her on a bed over here."

The dragon slayer did as he was directed. Then he headed out. "I trust you to take care of her. I have business I must attend to."

And he was gone.

 **~~~Zeref~~~**

"You want answers, ask your brother yourself." Acnologia growled. "You no longer interest me, black wizard. My time is short, and my foe will be back any minute. I must get stronger so I can destroy him."

And then Acnologia was gone.

Moments later Natsu appeared before his eyes, searching the battlefield for his opponent.

"Damn, I'll never find him now," Zeref heard him mutter before turning to him.

"Natsu?" Zeref looked at him, still confused. "How have you gained so much power?"

Without speaking, the pink-haired dragon slayer moved toward Zeref. The black wizard took out the book of E.N.D. and used magic to pierce it.

 **~~~At the guild~~~**

"Ow! What the fuck!" Natsu clutched his chest.

 **~~~Back on the Battlefield~~~**

"Why isn't this hurting you?" Zeref hit the book with a heavier attack.

Natsu stopped, a few feet away from him. "Because I'm not your etherious. I'm your brother."

 _He can't be_. "You can't be my brother. Natsu Dragneel is dead."

"Not dead," Natsu replied. "It took me a while to put all the pieces together, but I was taken from your home before the dragons attacked.

"You mean you weren't there?..."

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

Zeref Dragneel pushed open the metal door and came out into what used to be his house. He still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Around him was no living room. No eating area. Not even the stove they'd used for cooking. Just ashes. Black ashes… everywhere…

The area around was still burning as the townspeople who were still alive fought to extinguish the flames. Smoke poured into his nostrils and lungs, throwing him into a coughing fit.

Frantically he searched the ashes. He wanted to find something, somewhere, to remember his parents. His brother. But nothing remained. Not even bones.

"NATSU!" He screamed, falling to his knees among the ashes. "Mom, dad! How could you leave me?"

"Natsu…" He cried again, tears streaming down his face. "You can't leave me Natsu… I can't lose you forever."

Natsu was barely old enough to learn magic, but he already possessed the magic of a warm heart and a cheerful spirit. No matter how bad things were, Natsu could always bring a smile to his face. There was nothing that could bring Natsu down.

But now he was gone. With nothing to remember him by. Not even bones. Everything, just burnt to ashes.

"You can't go Natsu… I'll find a way to bring you back. I swear I will…"

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

"You were alive all this time, and you never found me? Never told me?" Zeref felt his anger rising.

"I didn't even know about you until recently," Natsu said. "The dragons didn't tell me much initially. And then they thought I died during the dragon war. After that, I spent most of my time in isolation. It was only in the last 40 years that I was able to piece together the truth about my past, and you haven't exactly been easy to find."

"But you were alive! The curse. The etherious race. It was all for nothing!" Zeref practically shouted.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't find you sooner, but I didn't make those choices for you." Natsu said. "I will have to ask that you withdraw from this battlefield, though. Your war is putting the lives of my mates in danger."

"Your mates? So Fairy Tail already knows you exist?"

"They do now."

"Why should I withdraw my troops for you?"

"I'll give you 5 minutes. After that, any troops that are not retreating back to your ships will be lost to you forever."

Without further explanation, the dragon slayer departed, back for the guild. Zeref just stood there for a few minutes. Then sighed.

As much as he wanted to call his brother's bluff, the army and its generals that he'd built up could not be easily replicated. Besides, there was a possibility that he actually wasn't bluffing.

He pulled out a communications lacrima. "Invel, prepare our armies for departure."

"Your majesty?"

"You heard me, we're withdrawing."

"Yes your majesty… What of the Spriggans who were defeated?"

"Leave them. Anyone unable to perform the task set before them is not worthy of the Spriggan 12."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Until next time, Natsu…" He muttered, looking to the north.

 **~~~On the battlefront~~~**

"They're withdrawing?!" Mirajane looked up from the battle, unable to believe her eyes. The Alvarez troops and their powerful leaders were no longer attacking, but retreating slowly from the area.

Several members around them began to give chase, but Mira yelled for them to stop.

"I don't know why they're withdrawing," she said, "but we don't have the strength to defeat them right now if they pull us into an ambush. We can only hope that they're leaving for good!"

"For now, let's get the wounded back to the guild." She said, looking around at the several mages who were now lying in bad shape all around them.

It was a cooperative effort, but after a while they were able to return everyone to the guild infirmary. Those of the Spriggan 12 who were not dead were also brought back, though they were quickly fitted with anti-magic cuffs to prevent them from causing more damage.

As soon as they got back, Mirajane was summoned by the guild master. She came into the office and felt her heart beat slightly faster as she saw Natsu – the real Natsu, not the etherious they'd known for so long – sitting across from the guild master.

"What happened out there, Mirajane?" Makarov asked.

"I don't know, honestly." Mirajane replied. "We didn't seem to be making much of a dent in their ranks yet. But somehow, they just started leaving."

Makarov sighed. "I'm glad that they're gone in some respects. However, this may just give Zeref a chance to rebuild and come again with a stronger force."

"That's not going to happen." Natsu spoke from his chair.

"What do you mean?" Makarov asked.

"The Spriggan 12 aren't easily replaceable, and he's lost 6 of them already." Natsu said. "Despite defeating some of the mages that were assisting you, they lost a massive number of soldiers and mages in the fight as well. If Zeref does come back and attack again, it won't be for hundreds of years."

"The logic is sound," Mavis said. "This Natsu seems to have a head on him…"

"When you've lived for over 400 years, you learn some things," Natsu replied.

"So," Mira was wondering about something. "Are you really a dragon? Or are you a human?"

"I'm both." Natsu answered.

"Huh?" That threw even Makarov for a loop.

"It's hard to explain. I'm as human as I am dragon, and as dragon as I am human… so near as I can tell, at least."

"So, does that mean if you were married you would have human babies, or dragon babies?..."

"Don't worry," the dragon slayer responded." I can't say for sure the exact nature of our babies, but they will be born in human baby form. I'm sure of that much."

"Our babies?" Mavis looked between the two of them. "Is there something I should know?"

Mirajane blushed deeply. She couldn't deny that she'd been thinking along those lines, but to have it said so blatantly when they hardly knew each other…

"She initiated the first step in the mating ritual," he replied matter-of-factly. "In the human, as in the dragon world, that will eventually lead to babies."

"It… it was just a kiss," she muttered, embarrassed, though also somewhat happy, at the thought.

"Mira… I need to talk to you for a moment," Mavis said.

"Umm… ok first master," Mira followed her to another, more private room, leaving Natsu alone with the guild master.

"What is it, first master?" she asked.

"You have to remember that Natsu was raised by dragons, not humans, first of all." She said. "Which means that his views of love and marriage are from theirs…"

"I didn't know they were different," Mira blinked.

"Same in some ways, different in others. But let's start here. For a dragon, kissing on the lips is… well… let's say it's the equivalent of oral sex."

"What?!" Mira was shocked.

"Unlike humans, who may kiss someone who they're thinking about getting into a deeper relationship with, dragons will only kiss when they plan on taking the other for a mate. Whether it's the male or female who initiates, the kiss is like a seal on their relationship…"

"Also," she added, "from my reading of the ancient texts, I would guess that you experienced a feeling that you may not have expected from the kiss?"

Mirajane turned red. "Yes…" her mind went to that wonderful, almost orgasmic feeling of heat spreading through her entire body. Just thinking of it made her unconsciously move her hand to her nether regions.

"As the texts said, then." Mavis replied. "Kissing for a dragon is one of the most intimate forms of foreplay. In fact, it is so pleasurable for a dragon's mate that the female will experience an orgasm on her first kiss if it is not broken off quickly."

"Oh…" Mira's face turned redder as she recalled the disappointment and breathlessness she'd experienced when the dragon slayer broke the kiss.

Suddenly she remembered that Erza had kissed him as well. "Wait – what if a dragon kisses more than one mate?"

"That is another difference in their thinking," replied Mavis. "According to ancient texts, there were always many more female dragons than male dragons. As a result, it was not considered wrong – or even unusual – for a male dragon to have more than one mate. In fact, the strongest dragons would often have four or five mates."

"So, what you're telling me is that when I kissed Natsu, it was pretty much like having sex with him… wow – he must think I'm a hussy."

Mavis grinned. "Not at all. Actually, in dragon culture, the girl would often make the first move. If they saw a powerful dragon they wanted, they would go after him. It wouldn't be unusual for them to kiss after knowing each other for as little as a couple hours."

"But how could they form a long-term relationship based on just a couple hours?"

"That's the last interesting thing about dragons' perspective…" Mavis sighed, a dreamy smile on her face. "Love isn't just about that feeling you get when you first see someone, or about compatibility. That's all part of it, but it's so much more. It's about choosing to live your lives together, through good times and bad times, and being committed to each other no matter what."

Mavis smiled softly. "In fact," she added, "it's so ingrained into their natures that, according to legend, at least, there has never been a dragon that cheated on their mate."

 **~~~In the infirmary~~~**

Natsu sat by Erza's bed. The red-haired mage was awake now, her injuries healing from Porlyusica's expert care. As he looked at her, Erza blushed, remembering the kiss they shared on the mountains.

"Are you well enough for a longer kiss?" The dragon slayer asked her.

"Umm… sure," she smiled, a little confused. Why was he asking that? It was just a kiss, after all.

Without another word, he leaned down to capture her lips with his. Her lips caught his hungrily, and she felt the heat rush into her again, filling her from head to toe…

 **~~~Cut scene to keep this T rated~~~**

A few moments later Erza lay panting in the bed. Her only thought in that moment was, "how could I have an orgasm from a kiss?..." She wanted more, though… so much more.

However, she could also feel that her body wasn't ready for it. Natsu must have sensed the same thing, because he backed off, sitting by her bedside again.

"So did you finish it with Acnologia?" She asked when she had full control of her faculties again.

"Unfortunately, he got away." The dragon slayer replied. "I had to interrupt our fight for something important, and when I came back he was gone."

"That's too bad," Erza said quietly. She knew how conflicted the dragon slayer was about the battle.

"I will find him again," the dragon slayer replied. "And I will destroy him. I have you and Mira to strengthen me now."

Erza smiled as she drifted back away to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Fairy Tail. Or the characters.

I don't know why - I've just been writing pretty much non-stop today. Don't get used to it.

Anyway, here's chapter 4**

* * *

After Natsu came back from the infirmary, the Natsu the guild was more familiar with instantly challenged him. "Yo other me. Fight me!"

Without waiting for an answer, the etherious dragon slayer charged him, only to be taken out with a single punch.

"It almost hurts to see myself so immature," Natsu said as he left the etherious unconscious on the floor.

He then turned to Mirajane, who had returned from her briefing with the first master. "Can you take me to your home?" He asked.

"Hey! Asking my sister to take you home out of nowhere is not a man!" Elfman exclaimed.

Mirajane held up a hand. "It's ok Elfman… This is something that I've already decided."

Elfman looked at her, then at Natsu. After seeing him take out one of the most powerful mages in the guild now with a single blow, he realized he couldn't threaten the dragon slayer. "You'd better treat her well.." He growled.

Natsu just looked at him like he was stupid. "Is there any other way to treat your mate?"

Mirajane smiled and pulled the dragon slayer with her. "I think we should go home now… There's a lot about human culture you still don't understand."

 **~~~At the Strauss residence~~~**

They had barely gotten inside the door when Mirajane turned. "I have to see if it's true!" she exclaimed, capturing the dragon slayer's lips in a kiss.

 **~~~Cut scene~~~**

Mirajane lay breathless in the dragon slayer's strong arms. "Wow…" Was all she could gasp out. "If that's a kiss, I can't wait to find out what it's like to make love."

"You don't have to…" Natsu said with a hint of a smirk.

 **~~~Cut scene~~~**

When Elfman and Lisanna got home, they found Mirajane, now fully clothed, laying on the couch, a look of sheer bliss on her face and her eyes almost fully closed.

"Mira? What happened?"

"Oh, it was so amazing…" Mirajane murmured, her eyes opening a little and her body shuddering in remembrance. "I never dreamed I could feel so good."

"Are you going to be able to make dinner?" Lisanna asked.

"Oh. Sure… Natsu should be back in a minute with the groceries." Mirajane tried to get up and fell back to the couch. _Guess my legs aren't quite working properly yet…_

"umm… just give me a few more minutes, and I should be fine." She said.

Elfman looked pissed. "Mira," he said. "I know you said you made your decision, but is it really ok to be doing this already? With a guy you only just met?"

Mira sighed. "Look, I can't explain it all to you right now, but yes. I'm sure."

"But how, Mira?" Lisanna said. "I know this is supposed to be the big brother's job, but I have to agree with him. You don't even know Natsu."

"Mavis would be able to explain it to you better than I would." Mira replied. "I just know that no matter what, he'll never leave me or hurt me. He'll be as loyal to me as any fully human husband could be… more loyal, even."

"What do you mean Mavis could explain it?"

"She's the one that helped me understand dragon culture. You have to realize that Natsu hasn't actually lived among humans since he was like 3 years old. He was raised by dragons, and now he's become partly dragon. He doesn't understand our dating rituals… which honestly might be just as well."

Elfman sighed. "Well, I don't get it really, but as long as you're happy."

"What about Erza?" Lisanna cut in.

"What about her," Mira wondered how in the world she could know anything about Erza.

"Well, I happened to be going into the infirmary, and I saw Natsu kissing her. And it looked like she was _really_ enjoying it." Lisanna put heavy emphasis on the word really.

Mira blushed. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure either of us knew what we were getting into when it started, but I do know that neither of us would take it back now…"

Then she proceeded to explain, in short summary, everything from the quest that they'd been sent on to the dragon's view of finding mates.

 **~~~Fairy Tail Infirmary~~~**

Jellal looked down at Erza as she slept, his features gentle. He was now sporting a Fairy Tail guild mark, having been officially pardoned by the council.

Kagura was next to him, watching him with intense eyes. She wasn't sure that she'd fully forgiven the powerful mage for Simon's death. She wasn't sure she ever could fully forgive him.

"Erza," Jellal muttered, leaning down as though to steel a kiss.

Erza's eyes fluttered open, and she quickly put a hand between her lips and his.

"Erza-nee!" Kagura exclaimed, smiling broadly. It was good to see the powerful mage finally awake.

"Hey Kagura," Erza said, returning the smile. "Hello Jellal. I'm really happy to see you both."

"Erza," Jellal said. "Guess what? The council pardoned me, and Makarov allowed me to join Fairy Tail!"

"That's great news, Jellal." The redhead smiled fondly at him.

"So… now that I'm not running from the council anymore… Could you consider dating me?"

A shadow passed over Erza's face. "I'm sorry, Jellal, but that door is closed now."

Jellal clenched his fist. "I know I've been an ass, Erza, but please give me another chance. I know I can make it up to you."

"I'm sorry, but I can't." Erza said. "It's not just because I don't love you anymore, Jellal. I'm committed to someone else."

"What?" Jellal's eyes widened in shock. "Who is it? Tell me who it is so I can beat his ass!"

"Heh…" Erza's lips drew into a smirk. "Not even you could do that…"

"I could try."

"I wouldn't advise it."

Kagura looked up at the new voice, unaware there was someone else in the infirmary. A girl stood there, looking to be no older than 14 or 15, with long flowing blonde hair. _This must be Fairy Tail's first master who was revived during the war…_

Jellal looked up too. "First Master Mavis," he confirmed Kagura's guess. "What do you know about this?"

The first master sighed. "It's complicated, Jellal, but I can tell you that there's nothing you can do to change her mind or her heart. And you certainly won't defeat her lover."

"What do you mean, and how do you know this?"

Mavis sighed. "If you must know, I have this book, but Erza should read it first."

 **~~~Erza~~~**

The book was older than old, the pages nearly falling out despite the magic that had been cast to guard against the passing of time. She opened it to the chapter that the first master had pointed to, and started reading.

 _I've been with the dragons for 15 years now, and in the last 2 years they have finally opened up a little more about their mating habits. I was surprised to find that there are some similarities to human dating and marriage habits, but also some very notable exceptions._

 _I'll go over the similarities first. Dragons mate for life. They're very devoted to their mates, and to take another dragon's mate is one of the worst evils imaginable to dragons. In addition to this, partners are initially singled out according to the level of physical attraction between spouses._

 _The exceptions became more numerous the more I learned. Dragons have a lot of mating rituals and concepts that are nearly impossible for us as humans to fully understand. For these, I'll start with kissing._

 _At first I was sure dragons didn't kiss. After 15 years of living with them and not observing a kiss, I just thought it didn't happen. But in the last 2 years I learned I was wrong. It's just different from human kissing._

Erza's mind went back to the two kisses she'd shared with Natsu. Different was an understatement.

 _The closest thing I can relate it to in the human world in terms of how it might feel would be oral sex. But a kiss is still more intimate than that. When dragons kiss, they actually share their soul with their partner. The best that the dragons could explain it to me, each kiss leaves a small part of the mate inside his or her partner. But in terms of physicality, the pleasure is so intense that many female dragons will experience an orgasm during kisses that are held for more than a few seconds._

 _The next notable difference is the partnering concept. Where humans tend to believe it's weird for a man to have more than two females – shameful even – because there are many more female dragons than males, it's not unusual for a strong male to have anywhere from 2 to 4 partners. Furthermore, there seems to be no jealousy in these relationships. So far as I've been able to learn, the male doesn't favor one female above the other. Nor does either female try to make herself more desirable to the male._

"I guess that's why he could kiss both me and Mira and not think anything of it," Erza muttered. Then she continued reading.

 _Finally, though they don't view it as magic, it is my observation that the mating habits of a dragon may be one of the most potent forms of magic they possess. Within 24 hours of their first kiss – which initiates the mating process – dragons will become attuned to their mates. I have not personally experienced it, but the way most dragons explained it, after much consideration, was that their mate seems to grow in importance, and even realness, relative to everything else. It's as though the rest of the rest of the world starts to fade and the mate grows more into focus. Many attribute this to the sharing of their souls. And that may very well be the reason._

Erza stopped, having read enough to at least mostly understand what was happening, and why her feelings were already so intense. Not only that, it explained the strange lack of jealousy toward her rival. Even when she tried to summon up jealousy, she was unable to do it.

"Thank you first master," she said, smiling at Mavis before laying back in bed again. "I still need to recover a bit, but I have a feeling Natsu will want to see me soon."

"Natsu?" Jellal asked behind her, his voice tense. "You don't think I can deal with Natsu? I know he's gotten more powerful, but…"

Erza was thankful when Mavis cut him off, not wanting to go through the long explanation herself. She was still tired, recovering from her injuries.

"This is a different Natsu," the mage explained. "The Natsu we all know and love has the same body, but his personality and magic were created by Zeref, Natsu's older brother."

Jellal's jaw dropped. "Natsu's brother is the black wizard?"

Mavis nodded. "What Zeref didn't know was that his brother, who he thought was dead and recreated as an etherious, was actually alive. That Natsu – the new Natsu to us" Erza tensed when the first master referred to her mate as the "new" Natsu, remembering that to the guild he was indeed new, "was trained as a dragon slayer at the young age of three. When Zeref's parents died in a dragon attack the same night that Natsu was taken away, Zeref thought he was dead and began a quest to revive him."

"I can take over now, thanks first master…" Erza said quietly. "Natsu was trained by the Fire King Igneel to be a dragon slayer who could rival Acnologia. But during the dragon wars, he was believed dead. In reality, he was unconscious for a long time, having been heavily injured, and when he returned, the dragon wars were practically over, Acnologia having slaughtered almost all the dragons."

"When Zeref remade Natsu as an etherious, he brought him to Igneel. Igneel couldn't bring himself to destroy the spitting image of the young boy he'd trained and lost in the war, so he took him in and trained him as a dragon slayer, forming a new plan to defeat Acnologia."

"So Natsu is an etherious?" Jellal looked like his head was spinning from all the information he was taking in. "And the other Natsu is the brother of a black wizard, as well as a dragon slayer turned dragon like Acnologia?"

"Yes and no – not quite like Acnologia." Erza said. "Unlike Acnologia, Natsu still retains his humanity. Though," she blushed, "he worries that he will eventually lose that as well."

"This should explain the rest," Mavis said, handing him the book. "Remember that Natsu was mainly raised by dragons and has had little interaction with humans for the last 400 or more years."

Erza got up. "I'm going back to bed now," she announced. "But if Natsu shows up, tell him I want him to wake me."

 **~~~Natsu (E.N.D.)~~~**

"So how do you feel about having another Natsu here?"

"Great! Just means there's more of me to go around," Natsu grinned. "And this one could whip the shit out of stripper boy."

"If he were interested in petty brawls," muttered Macao.

"What I don't like is how he just swoops in and steals the hottest chick in the guild," Laxus said. "I mean, who gave him permission to do that anyway? It makes me want to punch him." He punched Natsu, knocking him into a wall.

"Hey, don't take it out on me!" Natsu protested. "It's not my fault the other me is irresistible to chicks. But that means my future looks good."

"That it does…" muttered Wendy softly, knowing nobody could hear her.

"Oh, stuff it flame brain."

"Get some clothes on stripper."

"What? When did this happen!" Gray hurried to find some clothes.

Just then Jellal came down the stairs, visibly deflated.

"What's wrong Jellal, proposal rejected?"

"Yeah… she's already with Natsu."

"WHAT?" All eyes turned to Natsu.

"Not that Natsu… although…" Out of nowhere Jellal punched Natsu, sending him flying into the far wall. "Wow, that feels better."

"Ow! That hurt!" Natsu complained.

"But I thought Natsu was with Mirajane," Laxus said.

"He is. And he's with Erza."

"And they're ok with that?" This was Levy, sounding rather surprised.

"Apparently it's a dragon thing." Jellal said. "And apparently, Natsu's both dragon and human, and gets the best of both worlds…"

"Well that sucks, the two hottest girls in the guild are gone." Laxus said. "Who's left for me."

"I don't know, I think there are some who could rival them for sexiness." Lucy put a leg up on the table, revealing almost all the way up to her panties.

"Really? Who?!" Laxus said. "I mean, aside from Jenny Realight… and she's in Pegasus." He thought for a minute. "Yukino's pretty hot too, but she's all the way in Sabertooth. Plus, I think she kind of has a thing for Natsu."

He thought some more. "I've heard some pretty amazing things about Edolas Wendy," he said. "If our Wendy grows into that, I could certainly see her as a candidate."

"GRRRR!" Lucy smacked Laxus on the face and stalked off. Natsu just laughed.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Natsu said, and punched Gray as hard as he could, knocking him into a wall.

"What was that for flame brain?!"

"That was for Laxus and Jellal hitting me."

"You're so dead."

"Bring it ice princess!"

In no time at all, tables and chairs were flying as the guild erupted into a brawl.

 **~~~Erza, a little later~~~**

"How are you feeling?" Natsu asked, looking down at her with strong, yet gentle eyes.

"Better," Erza smiled. "But not good enough yet." She looked at him longingly.

"Soon my love," he said, leaning down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. He withdrew after only a couple seconds, drawing a whimper of protest.

And he was gone, leaving Erza with her thoughts.

She couldn't help smiling as she heard the guild brawl erupting in the main guild hall. _Those boys will be really out of control without me there to discipline them,_ she thought.

This guild was a place with many good memories for her – and she knew that she could still create many more. That was the nice thing about Fairy Tail – they would always be her family, and she was certain she could convince Natsu to become an official member too.

 _I wonder how the council will feel about having 2 Natsus_ , she thought with a glimmer of a smirk. She could only imagine the council's initial reaction. _Of course, when they realize how different they are, it won't make that much of a difference to them, right?_

She could only hope as she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the Characters. They belong to Hiro Mashima.

Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Had to work past some writers block on this story. Things should get a little easier now though.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy**

**Updated author's note: As a reviewer so kindly pointed out to me, I forgot the decimal place when Erza questioned Mirajane about the .5% that Natsu had allowed them. That correction is the reason I'm updating this chapter.

To answer another question about housing prices, my basic logic was this: Essentially, since we're talking about the Magnolia market, I based the principle of 10 million for a fairly small house off of Lucy's rent for a 1 bedroom apartment, which is 70k Jewel a month at the time that she comes to Fairy Tail.

As a rule of thumb, the average monthly payment on a house/apartment is (give or take a little) a little under 10% of the full cost to buy. (For example, when purchasing a $100k house with average interest rates, you would pay a little less than $1k/month on a mortgage, once escrow is figured in). Therefore, I figured Lucy's 1 bedroom apartment would sell for over 700k jewel a month.

I then figured a house would cost a lot more than a room, and also figured I'd adjust for inflation. Additionally, the house was estimated to be a 2 bed house, which is a lot more expensive than a 1 bed. The price is honestly a little high, most likely, but eh. Details...**

* * *

There were only 4 people present when Natsu Dragneel got his Fairy Tail stamp. At his request, those 4 were Makarov Dreyar, Erza Scarlett, Mirajane Strauss, and Gildarts Clive.

"I want all of you to know that my primary mission is to hunt down and destroy Acnologia," he told them. "When your guild is in need of me, I will be there, but I won't be doing petty jobs from the request board."

"That's fine," Makarov replied. "We have plenty of mages who can do those. And even Gildarts, our strongest – previously strongest – mage isn't around for those."

"What will you do now, Natsu?" Erza asked the dragon slayer.

"I have to increase my strength," Natsu replied. "My enemy now knows that he must become stronger to defeat me, which means I must become stronger as well if I am to destroy him. He also knows that I'm alive, and that I'm hunting him, which means it will be very hard for me to find him until he wants to be found."

"What of Zeref?" Makarov asked.

"You don't need to fear Zeref." He replied. "He knows his armies are no match for Acnologia, and with a dragon of equal strength defending the Fairy Heart, he won't make an attempt at it again."

"But isn't Zeref's greatest wish to die?"

"That's what he says, but do you really believe that's true? Perhaps in his best moments it is, but somewhere over the last 400 years Zeref began to enjoy being the black mage. He finds pleasure in manipulating armies, commanding his own empire, and creating books of powerful demons. If he truly desired to die so much, why would he work so hard to stay alive and out of sight all these years?"

"He really is a lot smarter than our Natsu," Gildarts muttered.

"The real problem is finding Acnologia," Natsu said with a sigh. "I've been hunting him for 400 years. I was close a few times. One time there were actually reports of him sent out as a job to Wizard guilds, but by the time I got there he was gone."

"I never knew Acnologia had a human form still," Makarov muttered. "But I guess it makes sense. That was how he's been able to stay out of sight all this time."

"So I've got to ask," Gildarts said. "What do you think of our Natsu."

Natsu shrugged. "He's immature and clueless, but he certainly seems to have a good heart. And he's pretty powerful in his own right."

"Do you think he'll become like you someday?"

"No," Natsu said. "For one thing, Igneel placed a barrier to keep him from unlocking this dragon form, which is the pinnacle of dragon slayer power. But also, I think I know what Igneel did. I'm pretty sure that the barrier he created isn't just to lock those powers away. It also locks the etherious powers."

Natsu stood up. "Anyway, I'm heading out."

Makarov coughed slightly. "Natsu, you don't plan on taking these women back to a cave somewhere do you?"

"I'm not stupid," the dragon slayer said. "I'll just buy a place in town."

"Buy a place?" Makarov gaped. "You have money?"

"Of course. You don't travel the world alone and never come across anything worth value. By the time I "died" in the dragon wars I had 200 million jewel saved in an investment account. I've checked it over the years to make sure they're still using it and keeping it active, and to let them know that I'm still collecting some when I need it. By my estimation, between investment returns and new money from treasures I've found on my journeys, it should be pretty close to 50 trillion jewel about now."

"50 t-t-trillion?" Makarov's and Gildarts jaws hit the floor. Erza and Mirajane looked pretty surprised as well.

"Yeah, but I honestly don't know how much that is today," he shrugged. "I'm guessing it's at least enough to get a decent house, or at least an apartment. I'm gonna' go house shopping with these two beauties now." He said, causing the girls to blush and giggle at the same time.

After the three had left, Makarov turned to Gildarts. "Do you suppose we could get him to pay for guild repairs?"

"For him that would be like pocket change," Gildarts said, his mouth still hanging open.

As they were leaving, the heard. "Hey, fight me, me!" *thud* *groan*

And the guild echoed with laughter.

After the smiles died from their faces, Gildarts looked at Makarov. "So what will we do about the council?"

Makarov sighed. "I'm still trying to figure that out. My young self would've just hoped that the council wouldn't find out that we have a full dragon slayer here. But I know we need a plan…"

Gildarts nodded. "They're not going to want a wizard of that caliber to be affiliated with a guild. If he won't work for them, who knows what measures they might take?"

Makarov sighed. "A war between this new Natsu and the council would be disastrous for them and for us. But they wouldn't back down. In some ways they've changed. In others, they're not that much different from the old magic council."

"If they do go after him, best case is he takes Erza and Mirajane and goes into hiding again. Worst is, as you said, an all out war. Personally, I think the first possibility is the most likely."

"And why is that?"

"Because even though he's a lot smarter and more mature, his heart is still the same as our Natsu. There's no way he'd get involved in a war that he knows will have hundreds, or even thousands, of casualties. Not if he can avoid it."

"There's always a possibility the council will just let it alone."

"You and I both know that's not gonna' happen."

"Yeah…"

Both mages sighed. Whether it was wizard saints, magic weapons, or just plain powerful mages, the council didn't like any powerful magic that they didn't feel in control of.

 **~~~In town~~~**

"This is a nice little house," Natsu said as they came to a stop in front of a small home, perhaps 2 bedrooms at most, on close to an acre of land. "I'd love more land personally, but I doubt I could afford it."

"Umm…" Mira couldn't help giggling. "You know, you may be a lot smarter than the other Natsu, but you're still a little clueless about some things."

He almost glared at her. "What do you mean?"

Erza laughed. "She means that you obviously have no idea how much money you have. This house, for instance, probably costs around 10 million Jewel."

"10 million?" he blinked.

"Yep," Erza said. "And you have a lot, lot more than that. Which means," she added with big sparkling eyes. "We can start talking about my dream house!"

Mira sweat-dropped. Natsu shrugged. "Whatever makes you girls happy. Just try not to go over .5% of the total income if you can help it."

"Hey Mira," Erza whispered as the dragon slayer walked further ahead of them. "What's .5% of 50 trillion"

"250 billion," Mira answered, her eyes wide.

"We could buy Magnolia…" Erza whispered, her eyes getting a slightly evil glint in them.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Mira whispered quietly. "Just because he still has no idea how much his money is worth doesn't mean we should take advantage of it."

"So what is this dream house of yours?" Natsu asked. Of course, his dragon-slayer ears had picked up every word of the whispered conversation. He was hiding a little bit of a smirk.

"Oh," Erza grinned. "Well, the best way I can describe it is to give you a visual tour…"

"So first, the outside. My ideal house would have a tough exterior. I'm thinking a 20 to 30 foot wall, too smooth to be climbed, and the top lined with metal barbs just in case somebody did climb it. There should be only one gate made of solid steel, sealed with a magic lock that's attuned to the house's residents. The wall should go all around the property, which should be at least 10 acres, so that there's no easy point of entry."

"Inside the wall, just in case somebody does get over, we should have a 100-foot wide moat that's deep enough to fit a couple hungry sea monsters. The only way over the moat is a magic path that triggers whenever someone attuned to the magic of the house wills it to, and of course it crosses from the gate to the courtyard."

"The courtyard should have another wall around it, similar to the first but only 15 feet tall so it's not easily visible from the outside. That wall should also have a single, steel gate in it, so that anyone who manages to get over the first wall and cross the moat without getting eaten by a sea monster will now have to figure out how to get up the second wall fast enough with dripping wet clothes to weigh them down and hungry sea monsters on the attack."

Mira sweat-dropped as she listened, but Natsu seemed merely amused.

"Inside the second wall will be the garden." Her face became serene. "The garden will have roses of every color, of course, spread out on trellises close to the path. Behind the roses will be a variety of tulips and hyacinths for the spring, and Lilies for the later spring and summer. Of course, we'll have all kinds of exotic flowers as well…"

"Then, further away from the path, we'll have the largest Carvallies we can find. (Carvallies are large, man eating plants that love eating wizards because they absorb magic to sprout new and deadlier heads). Just in case anyone does get over the second wall, of course."

Natsu was smirking while Mirajane was looking almost terrified. Erza continued. "The house itself, of course, would have to be tastefully done. We'd make the exterior out of stone, with small windows that individually aren't large enough for people to fit through. And of course the door would have to be a very sturdy would. Having a steel door on your house is just tacky. But the inside would be all the nicest materials we could get. We'd have ornate granite countertops. High, vaulted ceilings on the first floor. Two guest rooms. A 32 x 40 party room, a kitchen large enough to cook for an army if we needed to, a dining area to match, and of course a built in bar and lots of storage space for strawberry cake."

Mirajane giggled as Erza continued. "Our bedroom would be on the second floor, connected to a bathroom with a hot tub and shower. We'd have a huge king-sized bed, of course. Most of the rooms on the second floor would be bedrooms. With the size of the house we should have room for 8 or 9, and 3 bathrooms for everyone else to share. Of course, at least one should be a nursery," she added dreamily. "And maybe we should have a small library too, to store some of my books."

"You mean your smut novels?" Mirajane asked innocently. Erza turned a dep red.

"And of course, you have to have a dungeon." She said as though Mira hadn't said anything. "I'd say a drab, stone dungeon with 3 or 4 old school cells. The kind that give you the shivers just looking at them. We'd have all the latest equipment of course. Anti-magic cuffs, chains, whips, needles…"

"Erza!" Mirajane gaped. "We can't hold prisoners in our home!"

"Who said anything about prisoners?" Erza said, and that was when Mira noticed the very lewd expression on her face.

Natsu actually laughed in front of them. "The dungeon, maybe we can manage. We'd have to make a secret entrance for it, though. Otherwise people might discover it, and who knows what they would think. And I think an exterior stone wall can be very stately on a mansion. However, there will be no steel barbs, no moats with sea monsters, and no man-eating plants in the gardens. We're trying to build a home, not a fortress. We don't want to scare even your friends away."

Then he smiled. "Since you girls know the town better than I do, why don't you find someone to build our house for us. Try to find a good sized piece of land… I'd love a hundred acres if you can get it with the money we have available."

"Where are you going?"

"To work on getting stronger. Here." He handed them a bundle of jewels. "That's 250 billion. If you have enough left over, buy us a temporary place to live while the house is being built."

Erza and Mirajane just stared at the money in their hands before quickly hiding it. It wouldn't do to be seen walking around with so much cash.

 **~~~Zeref~~~**

He still couldn't believe what had happened. He'd pushed all the way to the end of his campaign only to discover something that was entirely beyond belief. His brother wasn't dead. Never had been. All those years of searching for revival magic. Breaking the rules and getting cursed with an immortal life that just killed everything around it. It had all been for nothing. His little brother had never died. In fact, he'd lived to become arguably the most powerful wizard in the history of Earthland.

Now, for the first time in ages, Zeref was pondering his next move. He knew he couldn't go back to Fairy Tail. He'd seen his brother rush off to save one of their wizards, which could only mean that he'd already developed a connection to them. With his brother and E.N.D. both at Fairy Tail, no army he could amass would stand a chance. Even Acnologia had been overmatched.

The black wizard shuddered, suppressing the temptation to think about the value of life. _Life has no value,_ he reminded himself. _People are like insects to be toyed with. Mavis… Natsu… Those are not people I love. They're just names given to the insects that are harder to crush._

He sighed, fiddling idly with the book he held in his hand. There were still plenty of demons he hadn't awakened yet. Perhaps he could make more. Wreak some havoc on Fiore and let Fairy Tail figure it out.

"Your Majesty!"

He looked up. It was Irene, who seemed irritated, as always. "What is it, Irene?"

"I still want to know why we turned tail and ran back there," Irene replied. "Sure, they took out some of our powerful mages, but they had nobody who could contend with Augus or me, and especially not you."

"You're wrong," was all Zeref said.

"What do you mean I'm wrong."

"I mean there was somebody there who wasn't in my calculations. Somebody who shouldn't even be alive. But I assure you, if you or August had met him in battle we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Irene was quiet for several moments, and Zeref, with over 400 years of experience in reading people, could tell she didn't quite know whether to believe him or not. "How powerful is this supposed mage?"

"He overpowered Acnologia, and would've killed him if he hadn't been called elsewhere at the last minute."

Irene's eyes widened. "We had not information that anyone like that was in Fiore."

"No indeed. It seems he's been keeping himself hidden for years."

"So what do we do, your majesty?"

Zeref smirked as he rose from his chair. "We help him find Acnologia, of course."

"I'm not sure I'm following, your majesty."

"You don't need to follow," Zeref said flippantly. "You only need to know that this is our best chance of winning this war."

"Sometimes I despise you…" Irene turned and headed out, leaving Zeref alone with his thoughts.

 _Yes. That was the solution. Let the dragons kill each other, and the survivor would be an easy target. Then nothing could stand in his way ever again._


	6. Chapter 6

**This is just a quick note from the author.

As some of you have noticed based on the feedback I'm seeing in reviews, I've been struggling to write this story. So first of all, thanks for your honest reviews. I don't want to give my readers anything that's less than the best, so right now I have two options. I can:

1\. Take longer to post each chapter and have a better, longer story, or

2\. Shorten the story and skip most of the middle, resulting in a shorter story that ends in just a few more chapters.

Please let me know if you have a preference. And again, thanks for your honest feedback.**


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